Device for rendering rivers navigable



(No Model.)v

H. HAUPT. Device for Rendering Rivers Nawigablel No. 228,633. ."PatentedJune 8,1880.

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d, i Q l E X o er I Ely.

N-PETERS. PHOTO-LITKOGRAIPHER, WASHINGBIL D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERMAN HAUPT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

DEVICE FOR RENDERING RIVERS NAVIGABLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 228,633, dated June 8,1880.

Application filed March 6, 188. \No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMAN HAUPT, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, UnitedStates, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Rendering RiversNavigable, which invention is fully set forth in the followingspecilication.

This invention relates to improvements in the apparatus, devices, andplans for render- IO ing rivers and other natural or artificial channelsnavigable, for which a patent was heretofore granted by Letters Patentnumbered 225,125, dated March 2,1880, and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and

exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to construct and use the same.

This invention consists in certain improved forms of wickets forobstructing the iiow of 2O water in a channel without obstructing thenavigation thereof, and, in combination therewith, of piers withsuitable openings and adapted to bring the water around from above thedam and discharge the same below the 2 5 dam, the object to be attainedin said improvement being to use a single form of wicket that willanswer equally well for the ascending as for the descending navigation,which will obstruct the whole sectional area of a channel or 3o any partthereof, either in width or depth, and which will be readily accessiblefor repairs, or

detachable, if removal is desired, without requiring coffer-dams or theuse of submarine armor.

The form of wicket which seemsbest to fullill these conditions isrepresented in Figure l, in which A Bis a platform of plank, on whichthe wickets are placed. O D and D E are wickets inclined in oppositedirections, and

4o connected at the apex D by hinges or equivalent devices to form adouble wicket; or the halves may be used separately as single wickets.

To the lower ends of the wickets which slide upon the platform A B shortchains, C O, are attached. These chains terminate each in an eyeboltwhich passes through an anchoringbar, f, of iron or oth er suitablematerial, driven into the bottom of the channel against the 5osheet-piling of the platform A B, which serves to hold the wicket iirmlyin position, but which can be readily pulled up if the wicket is at anytime to be removed.

The bolts S S, at the ends of the chains O O, serve to adjust thewickets so that they will be in line and the vertices at the desiredelevation to retard so much of the flow as the proposed navigation mayrequire.

Instead of an air-tight cylinder of iron, as described in the formerpatent, the power of 6o flotation is, in this form, communicated to thewicket by air-boxes on liz, placed on'one side or on both sides of theapex, and curved and protected by the plank of the wicket, each wicketbeing in the form of a sled, between y thc runners of which, at theforward end, the air-boxes are placed. These air-boxes should be made ofgalvanized iron or other non-corrosive material, and should be of suchsize as will give the wickets just suflicient power of 7o notation tohold them against the force of the current and the pressure of thediii'erence of head, but not to exert any considerable excess of buoyantpower, so that the force required to depress them by the pressure of apassing boat will be the least possible.

For the purpose of adjustment a plug may be inserted in the air-boxesand water admitted when the air-space is in excess of the required powerot flotation. 8o

The attachment of the wickets to the anchorage by means of chainssecures important advantages. On one side the chain acts as a hinge,around which the side of the wicket nearest to an approaching vessel canrotate as the wicket sinks, while on the other side the attached chainwill'permit the foot of the wicket to lift and allow the water withinthe triangle to be expelled, carrying with it any silt or mud thereincontained and preventing 9o deposits. This action may be furtherfacilitated by leaving a foot or more of open space at the bottom of thedown-stream wicket, as there is no danger of drift catching on thisside; but the up-stream slope must be as smooth as possible.

In case of a rise of water in the channel the consequent increase ofvelocity will increase the pressure and cause the wicket to sink to someextent, thus automatically enlarging the 10o area of discharge when suchenlargement is required. A vessel in motion carries a Wave in front ofits bows, forming a cushion of water, which would reach and commence todepress the wicket before the bottom ofthe vessel came in contact withit, thus relieving the effect of any slight concussion, and making theangle of incidence more acute if actual contact were not entirelyprevented.

Fig. 1 represents an elevation, Fig. 2 a plan, and Fig. 5 a section, ot'theimproved wicket.

In Fig. 3 is shown an angulated pier placed in the channel, by which theapproach to the wickets is made funnel-shaped and the space to be closedby them reduced.

By making openings 0 0 o o o o through the pier immediately below theline of wickets w fw, su'flicient to discharge the ow of the channel,theheight of the water below the fall will be increased, the sudden fallobliterated in whole or in part and replaced by an inclined surface,over which ascending' boats can pass with less resistance, theinclination of the inclined surface being regulated by the size andposition ofthe openings. These openings may, as in Fig'. 4, be placed onboth sides of the boat-channel, which, in very wide channels, will bedesirable.

Where streams are very small, the amount of Water limited, and the t'allgreat, it will be necessary to dispense with separate channels for theascending and descending navigation, Fig. 4. In that case two piers maybe constructed, one on each side ot' the boat-channel, and the line ofwickets may cross at or near the middle.

By a series of openings, o o o o o, the water may be taken out ot thechannel at several points and at any required distance above anddischarged below thelineof wickets, thus obliterating lthe fall at thewickets entirely and suhstituting a long inclined plane almost withoutdescending current, and leaving the gravity of the ascent as the chiefresistance to be overcome. Such a combination of wickets and piers wouldalso be applicable to overcoming falls and to forming chutes in dams.

In a long chute, as represented in Fig. 4, several sets of transversewickets, w 'w w w, may be employed, which, closing the area entirely,except leakage, will oppose the greatest possible retarding influence tothe iiow and prevent acceleration in the velocity of descent, while thewater-passages through the piers, it' closed with adjustable wickets,will give au inclined plane ot' nearly uniform slope, without thevelocity of current due to the inclination of the chute.

Waste-weirs should be provided near the head of such chute, to dischargequickly during` lioods the excess of water above the amount required forpurposes of navigation, and thus prevent the iiow down the chute of anygreatly increased volume at high velocity which might interfere with theascending navigation. To fulfill this condition cases `of conduits andside wickets or openings to retard velocity in a chute and raise thelevel of the water below a dam, as that device has been previouslyproposed by others; but Ido claim the conduits or side passages in achute to lead the water from points (more or less numerous) above a dam,weir, wickets, or other obstruction in the channel to points below, incombination with said obstructions, where formed by wickets or otherequivalent devices, by whatever name they may be called, of suchdescription as to be sustained in position by a power of iiotation,adjustable or otherwise, and which power can be overcome by theapplication of moderate pressure from passing boats, but sufficient,when the boats have passed, to cause the wickets to rise, resume theirposition, and retard the direct flow of water in the channel,substantially as described.

What I claim as my invention, and desirev to secure by Letters Patent,is

1. Double wickets, applicable to either ascending or descendingnavigation, composed of two single wickets turned in oppositedirections, forming a triangle with a hinge at the apex, and anchored bychains at the base, adjustable for alignment and elevation, andremovable if desirable, substantially as described.

2. A pier, either angulated or parallel, dividing a channel into twoportions,in combination with wickets to retard the tlow in both theascending and descending channels, or either of them.

3. The improvement of navigation in a channel by means of wickets placedacross the same, to form dams at such intervals that the fall over saiddams will not be eX- cessive, and of conduits or side passages taking'water from one or more points above each line of wickets, discharging itat one or more points below said line of wickets and on one side or bothsides of the channel, for the purpose ot' forming, by the combination ofsaid conduits and wickets, inclined planes of gentle inclination andwith but slight velocity ofdescending current, and at the same time, byllowering the level of the water above and raising it below the wickets,to obliterate the fall at the wicket in whole or in part.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

HERMAN HAUPT.

Witnesses:

PHILIP MAURO, G. J. HEDRICK.

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